How do I prevent dps drop out on arcane rotation?

Post by macdiva524

After mists hit I quit arcane because it was very different than in cata, so I specced fire. Now I'm trying to get back into arcane, but I'm noticing a huge dps drop off almost to zero dps, according to the realtime counter in recount. I know its my rotation but don't know how to get around the drop when I cast my frost bomb.

I use Rune of Power for mana regen

I've been starting with frost bomb; AB blast till either 2 AM then; or cast Abar to clear 6 stacks of A charge. Then I've been going back to frost bomb or sometimes AB first; then bomb to restart rotation but dps falls to zero when casting bomb.

(As of posting I am forged and gemmed into fire, but even when reforged and gemmed into arcane the drop again; was quite significant)

I hate people who use recount in encounters to determine their worth... there are so many other factors than simply big numbering.

Post by icehoe

First of all, if you cant play the spec properly you will probably look at higher dmg done as fire / frost if you are better at that. Second of all, if you are geared and gemmed for fire, you will do crappy dps as arcane since stat weights are totally different. But heres the help you wanted:

For single target fights, Nether Tempest is your best option. If you take Nether Tempest, then only cast it once it fully runs out, otherwise you lose 1 cast of Arcane Blast every 15 seconds and most likely a tick of the dot itself. Also it tics more frequent then Frost Bomb, hence you will gain more Arcane Missile procs.

And i suggest you read a better arcane guide since you will gain higher damage output by camping 6 stacks then clearing them and rebuilding. Basic covering 6 stack camp:

Arcane Blast > 92% Mana – I will explain later why you will always be at 6 Arcane Charges and why you should only Arcane Blast when at more than or equal to 92% mana.

Arcane Missiles (1 Stack) <92% Mana – After an Arcane Blast, which will drop you ~8% mana, you should cast either Arcane Missiles or Scorch. If you’ve just cast an Arcane Blast and you have an Arcane Missiles! proc, you should straight away cast Arcane Missiles.

Scorch <92% Mana – If you have just cast an Arcane Blast, and you have no Arcane Missile! procs, then you should cast Scorch if you below 92% mana.

NEVER CAST ARCANE BARRAGE – The only exceptions to this rule are: In an Alter Time + Arcane Power combination... Or if a target is about to become immune and you won’t be able to sustain your 6 Arcane Charges with; Arcane Explosion, Arcane Blast or Arcane Missiles.

Post by nickseng

For single target fights, Nether Tempest is your best option. If you take Nether Tempest, then only cast it once it fully runs out, otherwise you lose 1 cast of Arcane Blast every 15 seconds and most likely a tick of the dot itself. Also it tics more frequent then Frost Bomb, hence you will gain more Arcane Missile procs.

Arcane Missiles procs out of spell cast, not spell hit, so your Nether Tempest has only 1 chance to proc it. In that sense, Frost Bomb has a better chance to proc AM since you cast it more often.

The more you know. :)

Post by ninjales

ofcourse in next patch that rotation will be completely changed according to ptr mages.

Post by Tush

Well tbh you make better dps with Living Bomb then with thous others.

Post by nickseng

Well tbh you make better dps with Living Bomb then with thous others.

Not really.

Post by Tush

Well tbh you make better dps with Living Bomb then with thous others.

Not really.

Well atleast I make more damage with it. And tbh living dps is better then dead dps.

Post by Valdie

- Burn phase I do the same above plus Mirror Images (if the fight is long, I use at the beginning then whenever TW/Lust hits or at the end). - I glyphed Mana Gems so I receive mana overtime rather than in one huge hit. - Use 'Alter Time' ability when TW/Lust is popped, you receive an extra ~6 seconds. - Pre-pot to an intellect potion and then use it again in burn phase or with TW/Lust.

Addons can be helpful too!I recommend Mage Nuggets and iceHUD.

If I can think of anything else I'll update. Hope this helps.

Edit:Forgot to mention...Try not to let your mana fall below 90%. Evocation can be your friend in burn phase :)

Post by nickseng

Well atleast I make more damage with it. And tbh living dps is better then dead dps.

And that's fine. But there's no real noticible difference in dps on a single target between the bombs. Of course, playstyle and preference could affect your choice, which is likely why Living Bomb does more damage for you.

Not sure where the living dps comment came from.

Post by Tush

Well atleast I make more damage with it. And tbh living dps is better then dead dps.

And that's fine. But there's no real noticible difference in dps on a single target between the bombs. Of course, playstyle and preference could affect your choice, which is likely why Living Bomb does more damage for you.

Not sure where the living dps comment came from.

With the living dps I ment dont whach Recount all the time and try to dps and stay alive.

Post by nickseng

Well atleast I make more damage with it. And tbh living dps is better then dead dps.

And that's fine. But there's no real noticible difference in dps on a single target between the bombs. Of course, playstyle and preference could affect your choice, which is likely why Living Bomb does more damage for you.

Not sure where the living dps comment came from.

With the living dps I ment dont whach Recount all the time and try to dps and stay alive.

I don't know anyone that watches recount during the fight. We usually check it after a fight to see how we did.

Post by Tush

Well atleast I make more damage with it. And tbh living dps is better then dead dps.

And that's fine. But there's no real noticible difference in dps on a single target between the bombs. Of course, playstyle and preference could affect your choice, which is likely why Living Bomb does more damage for you.

Not sure where the living dps comment came from.

With the living dps I ment dont whach Recount all the time and try to dps and stay alive.

I don't know anyone that watches recount during the fight. We usually check it after a fight to see how we did.

My every "friend" does.

Post by TheReal

Since the original post was about how to prevent DPS drop-out, I'll share a trick I found last night. But first, a little about my rotation:

In priority order:

Rune of Power (if specced)

Incanter's Absorption (if specced and damage incoming)

Mirror Images

Mana Gem if at or below 85% mana

Living Bomb if remaining duration is 2.5 seconds or less

Arcane Blast if at 6 stacks and mana is >=95%

Arcane Missiles if procced and mana is <95%

Scorch if AM is NOT procced and mana is <95%

Arcane Blast if fewer than 6 stacks

I keep my Arcane Charges at 6 as much as possible. Sometimes when I have to move during a fight, my stacks get dangerously close to dropping.

Here's my trick. To keep the stacks from dropping off, I fire my Arcane Missiles if they're procced without even letting the first missile launch (stop, cast, go takes about 0.5 seconds). Using the AM charge grants an Arcane Charge every time.

As for Recount, what mage doesn't glance at it during an encounter? I do it all the time to try to figure out how to improve.

Post by nickseng

As for Recount, what mage doesn't glance at it during an encounter? I do it all the time to try to figure out how to improve.

:O

This is news to me. Granted, I've never done any surveys, but I assumed that most people would be too busy to look at recount during combat.

Post by TheReal

It takes 2 seconds to cast Arcane Blast (unmodified by haste of course); that's more than enough time to find my where my blue bar lies in relation to the others.

Post by Zakkhar

It takes 2 seconds to cast Arcane Blast (unmodified by haste of course); that's more than enough time to find my where my blue bar lies in relation to the others.